Pyramid tag
by Mulderette
Summary: Tony and Gibbs have a talk after the events of "Pyramid."  General spoilers for season eight.


AN: I wrote most of this right after the season finale and never seemed to get back to it until today. Its been a very busy summer with traveling as well as downsizing in a big and very stressful move, but I'm hoping life is finally going to settle down for me now. I haven't had the chance to read or write in months and am looking forward to the season premiere and catching up on some wonderful stories that I've been missing out on. Hope everyone enjoys episode one of the new season.

xxxxx

Gibbs noted the familiar car parked in front of his house as he got out of his own vehicle and headed towards the front door. The last time DiNozzo had been here hadn't gone particularly well. He definitely didn't want a repeat of that visit. He entered his house and found Tony seated on the living room sofa, a large pizza box on the coffee table in front of him.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs nodded as he greeted his agent.

"Hey, boss…hope you don't mind, guess I should have called or something, but…" the younger man trailed off, looking uncomfortable, then suddenly stood up. "I'm sorry...I should go."

"Since when do you need to call?" Gibbs asked. "Sit." He gave a self-satisfied smile as Tony retook his seat. "I think I'll have a beer. You want one?"

"Sure, a beer would be good, boss." Tony's eyes followed Gibbs as he left the room and he wondered what had possessed him to come here. It was a bad idea. He knew he should leave, but remained sitting as if glued to the sofa. Gibbs returned a couple of minutes later. He handed one of the beers to Tony and sat down beside him. The two men clinked their beer bottles together then Tony opened the pizza box and offered it to Gibbs who took a slice. "It's kind of cold. You might want to heat it."

"Its fine," Gibbs said after taking a bite. "How long have you been here?"

"A while," Tony replied vaguely with a noncommittal shrug. "Have Layla and Amira gone home?"

Gibbs nodded. "They're on the plane now. I spent the day with them. We took Amira to the zoo." It had been another emotional day. They seemed never-ending lately. He hadn't gone to a zoo since he and Shannon had brought Kelly there, seemingly a lifetime ago.

"Bet she loved that."

"Yeah…yeah she did." Gibbs smiled at the memory of Amira's laughter and delight in seeing the animals. He just wished Mike had been there too.

There was a short period of companionable silence as they munched on their pizza before Tony spoke again. "I haven't really said it, but…I'm really sorry about Mike," Tony began, his eyes serious as he looked at Gibbs. "I know how close the two of you were…I know it can't be easy…"

"Thanks," Gibbs said gruffly.

Tony wanted to say more, but couldn't really think of anything adequate to say. It wasn't like Gibbs was going to explore his feelings. He just wasn't that guy. "If you ever want to talk or anything…" he trailed off uncertainly and when Gibbs didn't offer anything else he focused his attention on his pizza once again.

xxxxx

"So…" The last of the pizza had been polished off and now Gibbs leaned against the back of the sofa, holding his beer and looking at Tony expectantly.

"So?" Tony echoed Gibbs, trying to look innocent, but not quite pulling it off.

"Come on, DiNozzo," Gibbs said. "I know you didn't come here just to enjoy my sparkling personality.

Tony smiled, but didn't say anything as he sipped his beer. He really wasn't quite sure how to begin.

"Is this about Rota?" Gibbs asked.

"Huh?" Tony appeared genuinely bewildered as he gazed back at Gibbs. "What about Rota?"

"Is that why you're here? Do you want to take the position? I'd never hold you back, if that's what you want."

Tony shook his head. "I don't want Rota, boss."

"Are you sure about that?" Gibbs asked. As much as he loved having Tony on his team, he knew there were times when his senior field agent wasn't quite as satisfied with things as he had been in the past. "You really ought to consider it. You'd be a good team leader, DiNozzo. I know you don't need me to tell you how well you perform your job. This would be a fine opportunity…"

"You trying to get rid of me, boss?" Tony smirked as he said the words, but he couldn't disguise his eyes which held a hint of uncertainty and possibly hurt.

Gibbs sighed. DiNozzo had come a long way over the years and was an outstanding agent. Even now though, the occasional glimpses of insecurity still showed through. "You know that's not true, Tony…at least I hope you know that…I'd hate like hell to lose you…"

"Yeah…I guess I do know that…but I have to admit, it's kind of nice to hear."

"That being said, I don't want you to have regrets either."

"I'm happy here…" Tony stared back at Gibbs, suddenly not at all sure why he had come. He couldn't do it. He couldn't tell him and Gibbs being nice was just making him feel even worse about the situation. He felt like a traitor. It had been bad enough the first time with the whole fiasco with Jeanne. How bad would things be this time? They couldn't be even worse, could they?

Gibbs was watching Tony closely as a myriad of different emotions were being played out on his face. "Tony? Come on, DiNozzo…talk to me."

Damn…He knew he shouldn't do it, but he just couldn't keep this from him. "Boss…I…" He faltered and stared down at the coffee table silently.

"What is it Tony?" Gibbs' concern was growing. There was obviously something big troubling his agent. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. You can trust me."

"I do…I do trust you…Its just…"

Gibbs put his hand on Tony's shoulder and squeezed it firmly. "What is it? Tell me…"

"After the whole thing with Le Grenouille…I vowed I wouldn't keep secrets from you."

Gibbs' gut clenched at the mention of Le Grenouille. "Vance has you working on something undercover?"

Tony shook his head. "Actually its SecNav, boss…He requested that I take on this assignment. I'm working under his orders. Vance…he's not exactly happy about this. You know he's not my biggest fan. It's in-house. I can't really say anything else, I've already said too much, but…I wanted to tell you, I needed to. I don't want to do this behind your back."

Gibbs was silent for a few long moments as he inwardly digested Tony's words and tried to process them. He didn't have a good feeling about this. He didn't like being in the dark and he definitely didn't like that his agent was being poached out from under him, without his input or consent. Tony was staring at him with anxious eyes and Gibbs knew he had to say something. "I appreciate you telling me, Tony…" he began slowly. "I won't ask you for details." His gut was churning, unable to help being worried about his agent. Tony's involvement with Le Grenouille and Jeanne Benoit had caused nothing but trouble and ultimately heartbreak for Tony. Gibbs didn't want to see a repeat of that, but, he couldn't do anything about it right now. Just one look at Tony's face told him that the younger man was conflicted about what he had told him. "Don't worry, DiNozzo. I'm not going to say anything to Vance or anyone else about what you've told me."

"Really?" Tony asked, relieved, but still afraid to totally believe it.

"Really," Gibbs replied with a nod, easing his agent's mind considerably. He wasn't going to say or do anything that could jeopardize the younger man's assignment. Tony had worked hard and he did his job well. It was a show of respect that he had been given this assignment and he deserved it.

"Thank you," Tony said. "I know you're not happy about it, but…I need to do this, boss. I…it's a chance to earn some respect…hopefully anyway…"

"There's a reason SecNav asked you, DiNozzo. Trust me…at the very least, you have his respect…and you've always had mine."

The last part had been spoken very softly, but Tony heard the words, as clear as day, and they were the ones which struck him the most. "Thanks…" he said quietly. "That means a lot to me…" He hadn't liked the recent tension that had developed between him and Gibbs over his relationship with EJ. He knew EJ had thought it was silly that he cared so much about what Gibbs' opinion, but she just didn't understand their history or his need to shine in Gibbs' eyes. Sometimes he didn't understand it himself, but it was there, no use denying it.

There was a long silence then with each man lost in his own thoughts. Finally, Tony spoke. "I guess I should get going…I have a lot of stuff I need to do tomorrow…laundry…bills to pay…" What he didn't verbalize was that he needed to go through the file for his assignment and commit every last detail of it to memory. He stood up and started towards the front door with Gibbs following along behind him. "I'll see you Monday, boss. Have a good weekend."

Tony put his hand on the doorknob, but Gibbs grabbed his arm before he could open the door. Tony turned to face the older man, a questioning look on his face.

"If you need me…for anything at all…" Gibbs began.

Tony nodded. "You don't have to say it…I know you always have my six."

"I mean it, Tony…" He was still uneasy, having no idea of what this assignment entailed, if Tony could be walking into some kind of danger without backup. "If you get into any trouble or you just need to talk…I'm here for you."

"I know that,boss...it goes both ways." Tony smiled, hoping to ease the obvious concern he could see in Gibbs' eyes. "Don't worry...it'll be fine."

"I know..I know it will," Gibbs said as he forced a smile, which he knew wasn't particularly convincing. He released his grasp on Tony's arm and watched as his agent headed to his car and disappeared inside it, giving a quick wave before he did so. Moments later he was gone. Gibbs sighed softly as he went back inside his house, closing the door behind him. His gut was still churning and he couldn't help the feeling of foreboding that all was not going to go well with this assignment. He really hoped he was wrong about that.


End file.
